You can listen to this email by clicking on the link below.

Hello!

We hope you are keeping safe and well. You can listen to this email by clicking here.

 Inside this email:

• Help with the cost of living
• Need someone to contact BITMO on your behalf? 
• BITMO’s Annual General Meeting – You Are Invited
• Looking for a new job, training, education?
• Free English & Maths Tutors for Year 4 & 5
• September in BITMO’s GATE
• Belle Isle Repair Café
• Leeds Local Plan

Help With the Cost of Living

Hello! My name is Amelia and I am the new Cost of Living Support Officer at BITMO. I can help you with any problems you have with your benefits or debt. I also want to make sure all tenants are taking advantage of BITMO and are aware of the services we provide like free meals and school uniform.

To start with, I am contacting tenants affected by the Universal Credit two-child benefit cap. If you claim Universal Credit, have more than two children and one of more of them were born after April 2017, the benefits you receive for your children are reduced. We know this causes real hardship for families in Belle Isle. If you are affected by the two-child benefit cap I will be trying talk to you soon to see what support we can provide. You can contact me by filling in this quick form. Cost of living 2025 – Belle Isle TMO

If you have any other issues in relation to your benefits and would like me to complete a benefit check to make sure you are claiming everything you are entitled to, you can email me at Amelia.Ward@belleisletmo.co.uk or phone me on 07851 102386.

Please note I can only help BITMO households.

Need someone to contact BITMO on your behalf?

BITMO staff can’t discuss your tenancy – repairs, rents or any problems you are having – with anyone who isn’t on your tenancy agreement unless you give us permission. This is also called “advocacy consent”.

You may want to give advocacy consent to a trusted friend, relative, or support agency so they can discuss your tenancy on your behalf. Find out how you can do this on our website.

On the same page you can also see the tenancy agreement, and request permission for:

• Having pets or animals
• Making alterations to your home
• Taking in lodgers or sub-letting
• Running a business from your home
• Having a mobility scooter

BITMO’s Annual General Meeting – You Are Invited

BITMO’s Annual General Meeting is on Thursday 25 September at BITMO’s GATE. There will be food available from 5pm. At 6pm there will be a performance from Kittc M. Autorité, who performed at the Belle Isle Gala with the Safina Choir. This is followed by South Leeds, a short film made by local resident Alan Reynolds, who will introduce it. There will also be some formal business, including election of tenants to BITMO’s Board and approval of the Reports and Financial Statements 2024-25 .

If you plan to come, please let Karen.Hoole@belleisletmo.co.uk (0113 378 2188) know, so that we can plan the seating and catering.

Looking for a new job, training, education?

Or looking to volunteer? Event at BITMO’s GATE on Thursday 11 September. There will be employers like Greggs and Mears, experts on training and education opportunities, ways to start volunteering. Please tell anyone who is looking for a new job, training or education to come along.

Free English & Maths Tutors for Year 4 & 5

Is your child going into Year 4 or 5 this September? Or Year 6 and working at that level?

BITMO is really proud to be able to offer free tuition to Belle Isle primary school children with a free hot meal at BITMOs GATE every Tuesday for the fourth year running.

Children in Years 4 and 5 (and possibly Year 6) – along with their family – can also get a hot meal from 3.30pm every Tuesday at the GATE. The food is cooked by our food-safety trained volunteers, from a menu that is both healthy and popular with children. You are welcome to come for the meal and not stay for the tuition. Examples of what we serve are wraps filled with freshly roasted chicken, lettuce, sweetcorn and mayo one week and burgers, home-made wedges and beans followed by fruit cocktail and ice cream.

The free tuition is provided by fully qualified tutors with primary school experience, backed up by supervised volunteer tutors and has a focus on English and Maths. Tuition takes place from 4.15 – 6pm. As there is a limit on numbers attending, priority will be given to BITMO tenants.

If you are not sure, come along for a trial lesson on Tuesday 16 September – free meal from 3.30pm. Meet the tutors and trial lesson 4.15-6pm.

To find out more and to book your child’s place for tuition, please ask in BITMO’s GATE or phone Peter Sutton on 07891 274237

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September in BITMO’s GATE

Here’s the September programme for BITMO’s GATE. Highlights this month include:

* a free theatre performance on Thursday 18th at 7pm. This would cost you about £20 at a theatre.

* employment and training advice four times this month

* Belle Isle Repair Café (see poster below)

Belle Isle Repair Café

Leeds Local Plan

Citizens in Leeds have been invited to give their views on the future of the city, in a Leeds City Council consultation running until 15 September.

The consultation is for the Local Plan, running up to 2042. It is a major document that sets out how the city should develop in the next 17 years. You can find out more and complete the survey here.

https://leedslocalplan.commonplace.is

Contact BITMO

To report a repair call 0113 378 2188.

To make a rent payment, visit the BITMO website rent page or call 0113 378 2187

To report anti-social behaviour, call 0113 378 2181 or email asb.enquiries@belleisletmo.co.uk

If you have financial problems then please contact us for advice on 0113 378 2188 or bitmo.enquiries@belleisletmo.co.uk

Keep up-to-date with BITMO services and local news by visiting the BITMO Facebook Page and the BITMO website.

Belle Isle TMO works in partnership with Leeds City Council to serve the residents of Belle Isle estate.

Belle Isle Tenant Management Organisation Limited                                    

Registered under the Co-operative and Communities Benefit Societies Act No.29817R.

Registered Office: Aberfield Gate, Belle Isle, Leeds, LS10 3QH

You can listen to the email by clicking the link below.

There was a late addition to the tenant email, about how BITMO learns from complaints. You can listen to it here.

You can read the email by clicking here.

You can listen to the email by clicking the link below.

You can read the email by clicking here.

You can listen to the email by clicking the link below.

You can read the email by clicking here.

You can listen to the May 2025 tenant email by clicking the link below.

You can read the May 2025 email by clicking here.

An independent company regularly surveys our tenants to find out how satisfied they are with our work.

82% of those asked were satisfied overall with repairs carried out and with the time taken to complete the work. This is a more than 10% improvement on the prior year and over 10% higher than the rest of South Leeds.

73% of respondents thought that BITMO provides a home that is well maintained. This compares to 69% for the rest of south Leeds. 79% thought that we provide a home that is safe (compared to 74% for the rest of South Leeds.

65% of people thought that we listened to your views and acted on them. 78% thought that they were kept informed and 79% considered that we treated them fairly and with respect. All of these results were ahead of the average for South Leeds.

We also measure performance in other ways. These are the figures for the year from April 2024 to March 2025

BITMO successfully completed 93% of our planned Home Visits. These are necessary to ensure that tenants are happy and safe in their homes and that the tenancy is working well. The average for South Leeds was 81%.

We collected £97.83 of every £100 owed in rent. This compares to £96.22 for last year. The average collection throughout Leeds was £96.15. The total amount of rent owed from homes managed by BITMO was £140k. This is around half the amount owed in comparison housing office areas.

BITMO helped generate £450,833 to help 167 BITMO households in financial hardship (£386k for 179 households in the previous year). We also bought 129 essential major household items for those in most need. Working with Belle Isle Community Kitchen, we also provided free meals at BITMO’s GATE three times a week.

We spent £1,620,000 on roofs, kitchens, bathrooms, heating, adaptations, fencing and other items to help make sure that people’s homes and surroundings were at a decent standard.

There were 8 empty properties as at the end of the financial year and the average turnaround time to relet was 38 days.

62 anti-social behaviour cases were closed in the year with some 74% of those showing indications that the situation had improved. We know that more work is needed and are conducting a campaign to encourage reporting.

Are you interested in helping improve BITMO’s performance? To find out more please contact call Peter Olver on 0113 378 2188 or email Peter.Olver@belleisletmo.co.uk

You can find out more about BITMO’s performance on our website here.

🎯 BITMO Needs You!
💬 Become a Tenant Board Member
🌟 No experience needed – just your voice and passion!

📅 Thursday, 29th May
🕟 Drop in from 4:30 PM
📍 Belle Isle TMO Office
🕓 Training: 4:45 PM – 5:30 PM

Want to help shape the future of the Belle Isle community?
Come along to a friendly info session to learn what it’s like to be a Board Member — a role that’s rewarding, confidence-building, and makes a real difference.

✨ We’ll support you every step of the way
✨ Perfect for anyone – no prior experience required
✨ Especially welcoming tenants aged 50 and under

📣 Limited spaces – book now!
📞 Contact Karen.Hoole@belleisletmo.co.uk to register your interest or call 0113 378 2182.
📬 We’ll get in touch to confirm your place!

Be involved. Be heard. Be the change.
#BITMOTenants #CommunityLeaders #GetInvolved

You can listen to the email by clicking below.

You can read the email by clicking here.

You can listen to the email by clicking here:

You can read the email here.

You can listen to the tenant email by clicking below.

You can read the tenant email here.